I have waited a century for you!
by ArchiezCullen
Summary: The Cullens return to Forks, a century after they left Bella Swan. But little do they know that they are going to stumble upon Bella Noris. Can Edward resist another singer? AU/ ExB AxJ EmxR. Rated T for safety. * Earlier title was: " Come back to me"*
1. Chapter 1: Forks once again

**Chapter1: Forks once again**

_**APOV**_

It has been nearly a 100years since we left Forks, a small rainy town, almost permanently overcast with clouds. An ideal place for us to settle down, though just for a few short years…something equivalent to a few weeks in the life of a mortal. My family has never been the same ever since we left this town so many years ago. Edward has never been the same since he left _his_ Bella. I missed her too. All of us did. I had kept my word to Edward. I had tried not to look into her future and eventually, I could not see anything about her, even those rare flashes that came by themselves.

But now we were going back to that town…which held both the most beautiful and horrifying memories for all of us. Just like I had foreseen Rosalie had been the most difficult to convince to go to Forks. She had hated Bella with all her _soul_. Edward had not reacted in any way at all. He was just a reflection, a shell of the person he used to be. Before he met Bella, he was not really _alive_ but he still spent a lot of time with us and we had been really close. Edward was my favorite sibling and a great friend. Because of our strange gifts, we could have private conversations when no one else could follow or when no one even bothered. But when Bella came into his life, it was like someone had brought his _soul_ back to him, he smiled, he laughed, he spent more time composing happy music on his piano…there was a twinkle in his eyes. I had seen Bella become one of us even before Edward fell in love with her. The vision was one of the reasons Edward decided to leave Bella. When I had pleaded with him to stay in Forks, he told me…"She deserves to live a normal, full and happy human life. I shall not take her humanity away from her for all my selfish needs and neither shall I place her in constant danger because of what we are. Alice, please promise me that you will stay away from her and not look into her future. This is all that I ask of you Alice, for me, for my Bella." And I had promised. Edward left us for a few years once we left Forks. I could see him spending his time wallowing in the darkest and creepiest sewer-like places. But he had come back, once he realized the pain he was causing all of us, Esme especially. He was her first child in so many ways. Though Carlisle had created most of our family, Edward had kept us together.

It has been a century and it is now time to go back to Forks. For some reason I get hazy visions, visions of Bella. Only I am not sure if she is _our Bella_. I have not told anyone about this vision yet and I have kept my mind busy trying to write the Bible in the mandarin script. Edward knows that I am keeping something from him but he does not bother with any of this, he has not in nearly a century. Edward _died _when he left _his Bella._

_**RPOV**_

We are going back to Forks. Everyone except me agreed with Carlisle. No one cares about how I feel. If we go back Edward is going to behave worse than he already does and everyone in the family will be worried sick about him. Does he not know that everyone cares so much about him. When has he ever bothered about how any of us felt…except of course his precious _Bella_, the one human pet who destroyed my perfect family.

_**EPOV**_

Carlisle spoke to me again in private, at least in what little privacy we can get in a house full of vampires. I was indifferent to his decision about going to Forks. Forks, where I had met _my beautiful Bella_. _Bella… _I understood that we did not have any other place to go to in our constantly moving lifestyle. Forks would be safe. No one would remember anything about us after a century. But going back to Forks high school would be the most difficult thing for me to do. I only hope that a century would have been sufficient to remove the scent of _my Bella_ from the air… the air that now would not be worth breathing…but would make it a little easier than it would otherwise be. But the strangest reaction to our decision has been from Alice. She is trying to keep something from me…but its long since I paid attention to any of her visions…after all she had kept her promise about _Bella…_ her best friend whom she had left behind upon my request. We still had our white Victorian style mansion in Forks. Esme had left earlier today with Emmet, Rosalie and Carlisle to restore it to good condition, meaning to make sure that none of our acquaintances were around and make the house free from any "_Bella scent"_. It will soon be time for Alice, Jasper and I to leave for Forks with the luggage. I have spent the past century in memories of her… even after such a long time everything about her is etched in my eternal memory. Her pale skin, her inviting scent, her beautiful dove-like brown orbs that see past my pretenses, her silky mahogany hair…everything about her…_Bella…my Bella._

I do not play my piano anymore…the last song that I ever wrote was the lullaby for my _love._ After I left her, there have been many instances when I had travelled nearly half the distance to Forks to just look at her from far away, just to make sure she is fine…but every time I forced myself to turn back…I promised her a peaceful life. I will not go back on my promise…it will be as if I never existed in her life. I knew that she would keep her promise as well…to be safe. The last time I saw her face…her beautiful crumbing in pain, was etched in my memory, constantly reminding me of the monster I was…I am…

But I shall not trouble my family any more…I shall go by their wishes. I loved my family too…Even though I have been really harsh to most of them. Esme and Alice were the ones I had hurt the most…But I had done so to keep myself from combusting in front of them. I could not let them in on my pain. My pain was nothing in comparison to Bella's safety, my family's happiness.

I shall go back to Forks for my family…after all this is the least that I can do for them.

_**(AN: I tried to do my best in writing from 3 different POVs. I know that Edward's POV is not perfect, I have not done justice to him. I hope you enjoyed it though! This story is with the assumption that there were co-ed schools in the early 1900s.)**_


	2. Chapter 2: Bella Noris

**Chapter 2: Bella Noris**

_**BPOV**_

This cannot be happening to me again. It is just not fair. Its just 4 years since we moved to LA and now my father wants to move again. Why do we have to move everytime he strikes a new deal with some big corporation. Life in LA has been awesome so far. I have great friends and a sort-of steady boyfriend.

My father Rolf owns a multi-national corporation. I do not even understand what he deals with in his corporation. He makes a lot of money and I get a good amount for my pocket-money. My mother Clara is a home-maker, who keeps herself occupied by going to beauty salons and garden-clubs! I am the only child and have been a loner for the most part of my life….that is, till we moved to LA. I am now a confident 17-year old, with straight As in most subjects at school and good at basket ball. My friends ay I have an athletic, slim body with ample curves in the right places, but I just do not see myself that way. I am very plain looking, average teen with dull too-big-brown eyes and long dark brown hair. In fact my skin looks so pale and transparent that I could pass for being part-albino – I have not managed to soak up enough sun in the past 4 years. I prefer a normal low-hip jeans and a not-so revealing T-shirt and do not spend time with dresses or make-up…I do not believe that these things can make me look good and I am not looking for attention anyways. I rarely go out with my friends and until recently I did not even have a boyfriend. Nicholas, my boyfriend is smart, tall and good-looking. He is a football player and has been around many girls. So a long distance relationship with him is out of question. And moreover we are totally different people- he likes attention, going out to pubs and discos and expects me to be one of the cool babes who love to show off their curves. In the short period when we have been together as a couple, I have not allowed him to take it to any thing beyond a kiss. However I know that he is not happy with it…every time a kiss lasts for longer than a minute, his hand automatically start sliding down from my face towards my bust and starts trying to unbutton my blouse. I take that as a cue to push him away. It would not last much longer now…he has his needs and I am not ready for it yet…that fact that I am a virgin just excites him even more. But I constantly feel that he is not the guy to whom I want to give myself away…completely for the first time…or anytime for that matter. No one would actually believe that I could be a virgin…Even my friends say that with my body and money any guy would be ready to take me down any instant. I just do not believe in physical needs. It will automatically get satisfied when I find my true love. As a result of my beliefs I spend most of my time alone, with my books or my guitar or just lying in the lawn in our backyard imaging shapes in the clouds.

When my father told us that we would be moving to Forks next week and I will have to start the continue my high school in that small rainy town, I just walked out of the room and buried myself in my books for the rest of the day. And like each time before my opinion in this decision was not important to my parents. My mother was supportive for the most part but one she makes some friends at my father's business dinners, she would be lost in her activities.

It is yet again time to say good-bye to my friends and move on…I do not think that anyone would bother to keep in touch with me though. I would leave all that behind. I would have to start packing my stuff tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3: Bella Swan

**Chapter 3: Bella Swan**

_**APOV**_

Moving to Forks brought back memories of my once best friend…_Bella. _I know for sure that she would be dead by now…after all she was not immortal like us. Once we had set up the house to look like what it did when we were here the last time, I decided to take my time to figure out the hazy visions that I have been getting. Jasper was good at information retrieval and hacking. I decided to take his help in trying to find out what had happened in Forks after we left. Keeping my thoughts covered, I decided that I would go to the Forks library to look at the old newspapers for any information about _our Bella. _

"I just want to go and find some nice clothes for school tomorrow and look around the town for any changes that might have happened after we left" – I announced to my family sitting in the living room watching the television…any human would think that the television was on mute…but it was loud enough for our vampire ears to catch. "Jazz, honey, would you like to come with me?"

"Do I really have a choice…you would have seen me accompanying you anyway…didn't you?"…Jasper was looking at me with a loving smile like I was the only one in the world.

I skipped off to give him a small peck on the lips before we left hand-in-hand from our house in my yellow Porsche 911. Almost all of us had our separate cars… Rosalie had a red BMW 3 Series Convertible 335i, Carlisle had a black Mercedes E-class Saloon, Edward had a silver Volvo XC60 and Emmet had his Mercedes M-class off-roader.

Jazz gave me a puzzled look by sensing my emotional state- I was stressed and excited at the same time. I told him quickly about my hazy visions and what I palled to do now. He agreed with me in my decision to keep the vision from Edward or the rest of the family. Once we reached the library I pulled out old newspapers that had been stored as films and started going through the films from around the time we had left Forks. There were a few crimes reported here and there, a couple of major road accidents and a few betrothals. My breath caught in my throat when I found a small condolence article about _Isabella Swan…our Bella._ In the article it said that Bella had drowned in the beach in La Push during one of the storms and had died before the life-guards found her. She had died exactly 6 months after we had left Forks. If I could cry tears would be streaming down my face now…_our Bella _had died…shortly after we had left…I wondered if she had drowned naturally or had jumped off the cliff in an attempt to give-up her life. I had told Edward so many times that it would never work out…that Bella could never cope when he left her. I had been right once again…why did my brother have to been so arrogant and not just accept an advice?! _Bella had not lived a full, happy human life that he had wanted her to. We had killed her…If only Edward had made my first vision come true, I would have had another sister by now. _

Once my emotions hit Jasper he looked away from the films that he was going through and came to my side to stare at the screen. His sadness hit me with double the impact and I found my self gasping for air (something that vampires do not need!) and soon Jasper had composed himself enough to calm me with his touch. We then continued to go through the films until we found the article about Charlie's death. He had died cardiac arrest at just 50 years of age. Soon, we put the films back in their shelves and left to Port Angeles to keep up our pretense. I found some clothes for Rosalie and myself…I did not of course spend a long time in the shop or pay attention to what I was buying. I was too caught up with my vision and what I had read. _If Bella had died nearly a century ago, why do I keep seeing her when I look out for our future…the haziness in the visions ad disappeared. I could clearly see that it was Bella and it was in Forks high school…only she was no longer driving the monstrosity of a truck but a sleek blue BMW Z4 M Coupé and had a good sense of dressing._

I was back to writing the Bible in mandarin to in my head to prevent Edward from seeing my vision. I know he would go berserk.


	4. Chapter 4: Moving to Forks!

**Chapter 4: Moving to Forks!**

**BPOV**

The week flew by and I was now at the airport waiting to board the flight that would take me to Post Angeles. My mother told me that she will be there to pick me up and drive me to Forks. The past week had taken its toll on me emotionally. When I told Nicholas that my family will be moving to Forks, he had offered me to come and stay with him in the apartment where he stayed alone. I, being me, refused it politely and told him that I would keep in touch with him and would visit him over the vacation when my parents visit their friends in LA. It was then that I had seen his true nature, one that I had only been guessing about for the past few weeks. He wanted me to _at least _ sleep with him once before I left…he told me that otherwise the time he had wasted by being with me for the time when we were dating would be a total waste…he told me he was sure that he could satisfy my need and his manhood would do amazing things to my virginal womanhood. I had just walked out on him , not being able to take another word that might come out of his indecent mouth. I wondered if all men only lusted for the physical needs or if there was something called true love…the way they described in epics and poetry. I said my good-byes to the few friends that I had and soaked in the last rays of sun before I left to Forks.

My mother told me that the house was beautiful and was located near the edge of the woods with a nice view of a river. My mother had fallen in love with the house and they had ended up buying the house instead of renting it…which also meant that my father intended on staying in Forks for longer…all I could hope for is that after 2 years of high school I will be able to escape from the cloudy town to some nice sunny place like San Francisco or Phoenix or any warm sunny place for that matter.

The flight was uneventful and I arrived in Port Angeles…it was a really small airport and I could only guess how small Forks would be. I got my baggage and was out in minutes and saw my mother waiting for me. Once she saw me she waved to me and gave me a tight hug when I reached her. My mother Clara was the hyper-enthusiastic kind…my opposite! She immediately started off about how beautiful Forks was and how lucky we were to have got the chance to buy that house. Once we were at the car park I was looking for my mother's car…the silver Mercedes R-class luxury tourer. After making sure that the car was no where in sight, I asked my mother…"Mom…where is your car…do you plan to make me walk home with all this stuff?". She just laughed, gave me a small peck on the cheek and looked at me meaningfully…this only meant one thing…she had been on one of her shopping sprees! Once she was sure that I was not going to say anything more…she gave me a disapproving frown…"Bella, honey, do not look so upset…I though you would be happy to have your own car". At this my mouth dropped open…okay…what were they going to convince me to do. A new car definitely meant something was not right…I decided to ask about that later and enjoy the moment. "Can I drive then?" I asked me mom and she gave me a pleased smile and said "Of course sweet heart, your father had it delivered right here at the airport so that you will be the first one to drive it. He dropped me off at the airport before he went for a business lunch in the city. Aren't you excited about your new car??". Of course I was excited! It was my first new car…we had sold the hand-me down car that I had accepted from my mother in LA instead of having that sent to Forks!

I was stunned when I saw my car…it was a sleek blue BMW Z4 M Coupé. "W-o-w!"

I did not usually react well to receiving expensive gifts.My mother was quite pleased with my reaction and passed the key to me. The drive to Forks was amazing. The car was as silent as the breeze and had an amazing pick-up. We reached Forks in about 75minutes, since I was one of the prudes who like to stick to the speed regulations, even if I did own a BMW!

I must agree that the house did look good and have some sort of a charm to it. The furniture had been arranged already and my mother told me that I had my room on the second floor of the house…there was just one room on the second floor and for that I was happy. Being the only child I was often aloof and liked my privacy. My room had a huge four-poster bed, an attached bathroom and a walk-in closet. My mother told me that every bedroom in this house had a walk-in closet…My mother had chosen blue as the theme for my room…for which I was quite grateful. I liked blue and it made me feel at home. Except for the luggage that I had brought with me on the plane, the rest of my stuff was already in my room and I just had to arrange them the way I wanted it. It was almost time for dinner so I decided to take a quick shower before dinner and get back to unpacking after getting some food into my stomach.

That night I finished unpacking my clothes and books. I decided to arrange my music collection and other stuff tomorrow. Clara told me that the high school in Forks was not as advanced as the one I had gone to in LA and that I could take a week's break before starting school. She told me that I would be able to catch up pretty quickly. I think she was a little worried that I might hate them for bringing me to Forks…which sort of explains the reason for the new car…the room with the best view and the extra bonus of taking a week off before school!! I wonder how bad the school really is…


	5. Chapter 5: Purgatory and Thoughts

**Chapter 5: Purgatory and Thoughts**

_**EPOV**_

It was yet another day in this endless monotony…it was time to go to high-school or rather purgatory, for the lack of a better word. Alice was still trying to keep her mind closed to me and so was Jasper. I wondered if it was just one of their intimate moments that they were actually thinking about and covering it up on the surface, knowing what such thoughts did to me. Rosalie was her usual self…wondering if she had picked the right clothes to make every man in school drool over her on the first day of school. Emmet was lost in thoughts about how his wife would look when he convinced her to get those clothes off her body. Carlisle and Esme were worried about me… what it might do to me…coming back to Forks…going to high school…where I had met _Bella…my Bella…my sweet innocent beautiful angel…my love._

I had gone hunting with my siblings yesterday to make sure that none of us were thirsty on the first day of school. Unlike the last time when we were here, Jasper had better control over himself, having been on the restricted diet for longer. I had spent the rest of the early hours of the morning in my room…staring at the ceiling, imaging non-existent patterns…thinking about _my love…I love her…I will always love her…Forever…yet another promise I had made to my angel._

Soon, it was time to leave and my sibling called out to me through their thoughts.

_...would you be kind enough to grace us with your presence…I want to see the reactions of these human males to me and we are getting late… stop thinking about yourself and about HER…get a live Edward Cullen… (Rosalie)_

…_will he be fine going back to school…I could challenge him to an arm-wrestling match anytime…(Emmett)_

… _Edward…I can sense a multitude of emotions from you…I can calm you down if you wish…but we should get going…(Jasper)_

… _Edward…I can see that you will be fine today…Please come down… (Alice)_

I decided that it was time to go in order to avoid any confrontations and picked up my bag from behind my couch and ran down the stairs to the living room where everyone was waiting for me. I was surprised that Carlisle was still there. He must have kept his thoughts to himself…

When I picked up my car keys and stepped out of the house…I heard the concerned thoughts of my parents…

_...I hope my baby will be fine…I hope it does not hurt him too much to go back to school here… Be strong Edward… (Esme)_

… _I am confident that you will do fine Edward…Have faith in yourself son… (Carlisle)_

I got in the driver's seat and started the car as my siblings got in and accelerated towards Forks high school. I parked in the far corner and all of us went to pick up our schedules from the school office. Alice and I were pretending to be juniors while Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie would be seniors. Once we checked our schedules, I found that Alice and I had only English and gym together. My first class for the day would be German. It was one of my favorite languages and I was sure that I knew it better than the teacher herself. I did not even bother to register the names of the teachers…I took the last seat, farthest from the entrance. My siblings and I were getting the usual stares from the humans. We looked beautiful to our prey… As the other piled into the classroom I was hit by a thousand thoughts, the women swooning over my looks and wondering if I will ask them out on a date or if I already had a girlfriend. The male population were cursing my looks…each hoping to keep his girlfriend away from my eyes…Soon I tuned them all out and concentrated on the wall behind the teacher…I tried to locate my siblings in their different class rooms. The day progressed in a similar manner and soon everyone in school was taking about the new kids in school…the Cullens and the Hales… We kept to ourselves and grabbed some food to keep up the human charade and found a table at the far end of the lunch room… Soon Emmett and Jasper were discussing about the reaction of different people in their classes and Rosalie was smirking while thinking about all the compliments she had received in the first half of the day… Alice was extremely silent…and having known her for nearly a 150years I knew that something was not right… I nudged her under the table to get her attention…

…_Edward…I have been debating on whether I should tell you or not but I had a vision some days ago… We will have to talk about this in the presence of Carlisle…So let us not bring that up now…Please… _

I nodded imperceptibly and stared off towards the ceiling… Once lunch hour was over, it was Social Sciences, one of the classes I had with Alice…as we walked towards the class together Alice filled me up on things she had heard and thought was funny…

…_You know what…a girl from my math class actually had the courage to come and ask about us…I told her that Rosalie-Em and Jasper-I were together and that you were my brother. It was as if she was waiting for me to mention your name and even more excited by the fact that you were the "single Cullen". She asked me if you dated and I said that you did and that was a long time back… _

My face went blank and I stopped mid-step. I could feel my face contort in pain. Alice saw that too…

… _I am sorry Edward…I should not have mentioned this to you…I know you still love her…but…Oops!_

Alice stopped herself half-way through…which only meant that she was about to say something about her vision…but what could it be that will connect Bella, myself and the need for Carlisle to be there?? These thoughts kept me occupied for the rest of the hour and through Maths as well. The last class on my schedule for the day was Biology! This brought back a rush of memories…not that I had forgotten any of it but the emotions were raging inside me…I needed Jasper's help…this was the class where I had met _my Bella. _My thoughts wandered off to the days I had spent with _my Bella _in the biology class and soon the bell rang to indicate the end of another boring day in this purgatory…I walked back to the car as quickly as humanly possible and waited for my siblings to arrive.

The week passed-by in a similar fashion. Alice had still not told me about her vision. She kept acting distant and so was Jasper. Jasper was sending alternating waves of excitement and apprehension.

It was finally weekend and I did not have to bother with the human charade for another 2 days! Alice had predicted that tomorrow would be sunny and I planned to visit _our _meadow…where I had confessed my love for _Bella…my angel._ I spent the whole of Saturday going over my memories, of the days when my angel had brightened my life, the days when I had truly laughed. The days that I longed for but would never have.

As soon as it was dawn, I took a quick shower, not that our kind really needed to shower, but it was more out of a habit than a requirement. I dashed out of the house, running towards my meadow, along the stream from our backyard. Running was still the only thing that relaxed me, even though it still brought back memories about the few times I had run with _her_ and it is not that I want to forget _her _or run away from those memories because that is what kept me living, if you call what we do as "living". The rest of the day flew by as I drowned myself in thoughts about the first day I had brought _my Bella _to this beautiful meadow. Today it did not hold one hundredth of the beauty that it held on the day I had come here with _her _and I knew that I was because _Bella _had been with me then but now I was alone…even though I had a loving family, it was never the same without her. I found myself sobbing tearlessly and on my knees even before I realized what I was doing. It was too late to go back to those days I had spent with _my love_…After I left her, I had tracked down Victoria and Laurent and killed them both with the help of my brothers even though Carlisle did not approve of it. Leaving them around meant only danger to _my Bella. _I knew how our kind felt towards the loss of a mate and in the brief instant when I had been able to look into Victoria's mind, I knew that she was James' mate. Laurent left the coven but I did not want to take any chances. I would give _Bella _every chance at a peaceful human life.

After a century of being away, I was now sure that she did not exist on the face of this Earth. I contemplated going to the Volturi, begging them to end my life, but I knew what that would do to my family, my mother Esme. I was not that ungrateful or selfish. I now tried to drag along for the sake of my family. If only I could get back _Bella…_


	6. Chapter 6: Forks High

**Chapter 6: Forks High…**

**(A/N: I will be introducing a lot of new characters in the story. I will put up short notes about who I imagined a character to be to avoid any confusion. So, Milo would be someone like Angela and not Jessica. So do not interpret her the wrong way.)**

The week just went by in a haze…I now had everything set-up in my room and I really liked the house as well. I had missed the sun…it was cloudy or raining mostly…So on Sunday when the sun finally came out I decided to soak it up and let myself relax in the lawn in our backyard. I must have fallen asleep with the book on my chest and realized it was dusk only when my mother came looking for me. After dinner I went to bed early, having nothing to do and also the thought of starting in a new school once again was making me nervous.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock and quickly finished my morning routine and started to dress up for school. Though I do not spend a lot of time on clothes usually, I decided to dress-up well today. I wanted to make a good impression on people, considering today will be my first day in the new school and I was going to be in HIGH SCHOOL… I picked a faded blue flared jeans and a beige scoop-neck empire-waist top to go with it. I put on very light make-up; brown eyeliner and mascara to high-light my dull brown eyes and some pale pink lip gloss; I brushed my messy mahogany hair and let it fall over my back. Once quick peek in the full-length mirror in my room told me that I looked presentable.

I grabbed a cereal bar from the kitchen counter and ran to my new car. I wondered what sort of cars kids drove to school in this town. Back in LA, it was quite common to find the latest model of Porsche or BMW in the school parking lot. It did not take long to get to school, considering it was just off the main road. I would have definitely missed it, had it not been for the huge board announcing that building as the Forks high school. I found the office and parked at the temporary short-time parking space in front of the office and went to collect my schedule. The tiny name holder on the desk announced that the name of the secretary was Mrs. Schuler. She was of course expecting me and gave me my schedule and went through my classes with me. She also gave me a map of the school so that I would not get lost. This school was really tiny in comparison to the one I had attended in LA. I heard her grumbling something about the sudden arrival of many rich kids in this school. I had no clue about what she meant and got into my car and followed the stream of traffic to get to the parking lot. Once I found a spot, I parked quickly and scanned the car park. Most vehicles very quite old and not so flashy. I spotted a shiny new silver Volvo at the other end of the lot and wondered if the owner of the car was the one whom Mrs.Schuler had mentioned about earlier in her office.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of my car with my bag and schedule. My first class for the day was English Literature. I was wondering what book they were reading in this course as I walked towards the class room. I was early for the class but the teacher, a middle-aged woman with friendly features was sitting at her desk. Once I gave her my sheet for her to sign, she welcomed me to the school and then signed it for me quickly. She asked me to take the last seat to the right and told me that I will be sharing my desk with another girl Alice Cullen. They were reading "The Merchant of Venice". I had read that in my earlier school and I also loved reading it as a hobby.

Just as the first bell rang, I noticed someone on the seat next to mine…I had not noticed her or heard her till she had already sat down. Was I that lost in my thinking or was she so silent when she moved? I turned around to face her. She was tiny girl with pixie-like angelic face and short spiky black hair, with golden eyes and she looked extremely pale. Her eyes widened when she took in my appearance. Being the self-conscious one, I immediately look down and checked if every piece of clothing was where it was supposed to be and slight warmth crept up to my cheeks. Why did I have to blush at the slightest emotion! Bah!

Recovering from her trance she spoke to me, her voice was beautiful, like wind-chimes and introduced herself. "Hi, I am Alice Cullen. I am new to the school as well. Our family moved here only a fortnight ago. And you are…"

"I am Isabella Noris. But please call me Bella. I prefer it that way. And by the way you look really beautiful." She locked her hand with my outstretched hand and I noticed that her hands were freezing cold and I heard her let out a soft gasp when she heard my name. I have always been a little shy about my name…Isabella. The name sounds really old-fashioned. Soon, the teacher called the class to order and started with the next chapter. I constantly felt Alice's eyes on me but I thought it would be rude to stare back and so kept my head down. Once the class got over, I packed my stuff and left for my next class which was luckily in the same building. I had French, then Biology and Social Sciences. I made some friends during these classes, a girl by name Milo shared the bench with me in both French and Social sciences and asked me if I wanted to join her for lunch today. She told me that she could introduce me to her friends.

_**APOV**_

I had a vision earlier today, the vision of a _our Bella_ getting out of a blue BMW in forks high school. Since the vision did not make sense I decided not to bother Edward or anyone with that. We branched off in different directions to get to our classes. My first hour was English literature. I enjoyed this hour because it let me imaging the kind of clothing being described and plan if I wanted my designer to make them for me. Once I entered the class room and started walking towards my desk a familiar scent hit me…familiar but stronger…of Freesias in the rain. I noticed a new girl sitting in the seat next to mine. She must be new here. Her head was inclined to wards the floor, as if she was deep in thought. She had beautiful mahogany hair, long and silky flowing down her back. I sat down in my usual seat and just as I was planning to introduce myself, she looked up and I felt like my breathe had been knocked out of my lungs. I was staring at _our Bella…_only she was not our Bella. No…she could not be. I had to talk to Edward before he sees her and goes crazy. She was looking down at herself self-consciously, and a beautiful blush came on her cheeks…she was so much like _our Bella. _It took me only a few seconds to recover from the shock and I went on to introduce myself. We kept to ourselves usually, but I could not help myself from talking to this girl…she was exactly like _Bella_, only she had a good sense of dressing. She was wearing a pretty scoop-neck top and jeans, something that would pass as "acceptable" in my book of fashion. I gasped loudly (for a vampire) when I heard her name…_Isabella Noris. _And she preferred to be addressed as Bella. I had heard a similar conversation a long time ago…a century ago. I shook hands with her hoping she would not notice the temperature of my body during the brief contact. Luckily the teacher decided to start her class and I got a chance to look into the future. A new vision came to me…only, it was about Edward and Bella. But it was not _our Bella _but this new Bella Noris. Edward will have his maths class with her, as his bench mate! I will have to talk to him and tell him about my visions and prepare him before he goes to class today afternoon. I will need to have Jasper with me when I talk to him, so that he does not go berserk when I tell him. I could not help stealing quick glances at her through out the class. Once the class ended I went to meet Edward. I found Jasper on my way and quickly told him about the girl I had met. I told Jasper to keep his thoughts hidden till we got to the car with Edward.

We found Edward walking towards his next class in a lazy manner, like life held no interest for him, even though it was the painful truth. I started talking to him through my mind. I knew he could hear me.


	7. Author Note: Important

A/N:

A/N:

I have started writing another fanfic now, all human characters, from an idea that came up today morning when I was driving to work. I uploaded the first couple of chapters. I am confused as to which story I should spend more time on. So I need you guys to tell me your preference!


	8. Chapter 7: The hunt

**Chapter 7: The hunt**

_**EPOV**_

I was just walking to the second class, when I heard Alice call out to me, through her mind.

…_Edward…meet us at the car. NOW. I need to talk to you about my vision, the one I have been keeping from you for the past week. Please. (Alice)_

…_Wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round… (Jasper)_

I started walking briskly, still trying to keep the human charade but still reached the car in just within a minute. Alice and Jasper were waiting for me there. I wondered why she had not called Emmett and Rosalie. I hate the day she found out how to keep me out of her head and taught that to all the others in the family.

"Yes Alice, I am here. Tell me."

Alice looked at Jasper doubtfully and a wave of calming sensation hit me. I eyed Jasper suspiciously. Alice was fidgeting with her fingers.

I was losing my patience…"Talk" – I growled, so low that no human could hear us.

Alice opened her mind to me and I saw it all…I had to support myself on the car…It was painful.

…_A girl, not just any girl but Bella was getting out of a blue BMW in Forks high school car park. She was wearing a fitting flared jeans and a cute beige scoop-neck top. A few strands of her beautiful mahogany hair was brushing against her cheeks, tickling her skin. She brushed them behind and looked up and started walking. A dull sparkle was clear on her dove-like brown eyes…._

… _I was sitting next to her and we had our math books open in front of us. She was blushing a beautiful shade of pink…a familiar shade… My hands move to brush her hair behind her ears…Bella…I called out…_

"NO!"…I screamed in spite of Jasper's efforts. "It can't be. She must be dead by now…she can't be here…not now." My non-pounding heart was throbbing in pain…I felt another wave of calm hit me…stronger this time. I was on my knees, holding my head in my hands. "Bella.." I mumbled. I felt weak…extremely weak. Alice sat down next to me and pushed me to lean my back against my car.

"She is here Edward…I met her in my English class; she is my bench partner. Her name is Isabella Noris. I am so sorry Edward…the vision was hazy at first, maybe because of some indecision. She is very much like _our Bella _Edward and she even smells similar, in fact stronger, but she IS NOT _our Bella_. You should hunt before you go to your maths class…if you plan to go to your maths class. We can go with you if you want…"

"Alice, I can't see her. I just can't. The pain…its unbearable. And I would never hurt her, even if I do not hunt. I could never live with myself if I did. I got over my thirst for _her _blood long back…"

…_Edward, I think you should meet her. May be you and Bella were always meant to be. This could be your second chance and you are lucky to have that. Not everyone gets a second chance to fall in love. I know how you feel when you are thinking about her Edward… I know you would have given Bella anything she would ask, even immortality, if she was with us now… you need her Edward. Trust me… (Jasper)_

I looked up to him, my elder brother in so many ways. Deep with in I knew he was right. I would give anything to have _my Bella _back…I had regretted not giving in to her wish for immortality, the only thing she had ever asked me and I had refused…

"Can we leave now so that we can come back by lunch? I will get us excused from the rest of the classes in the morning…" I asked.

Alice perked up at once and Jasper smiled at me.

I was back in a flash and we were driving out of the town within minutes. I gave in to my senses completely... preparing myself for the hunt for the first time in a century. I needed to be strong near _my Bella…_Wait…_my Bella…_she was not mine…no…she was not. Why would she want to be with a monster like me. She will not love me. No one was as understanding and selfless as _my Bella_ had been. I felt myself sinking. She would not want me. And how could I even think she could replace _my love_?? No…I will not betray _my Bella._ Jasper was by my side in an instant. He must have felt it. He placed his hand on my shoulder trying to relax me.

I let him calm me down. Alice pulled me up by my shoulder and punched me in my stomach playfully, she was quite strong for her size and that punch would have killed any human. "Edward…you might want to see another vision that I just had" she said and then I could see the images flowing in her mind.

…_I was at our meadow, but I looked happy, I was in fact smiling. Someone came running to me as I opened up my arms in welcome. Bella hugged me tightly and said "Edward…I think I am falling in love…with you"…her cheeks warmed up and a beautiful blush appeared on them. After an eternally long second, a brilliant smile cut across my face and I kissed her head, inhaling her beautiful aroma and said" You have no clue…I have been waiting for a century to hear this, love"…_

Stunned, I looked into my sister's face. She gave me a smile and told me" Trust me Edward. The vision is not set in stone but is quite decided. She will love you if you will let her".

With a sudden burst of energy I ran through the forest, away from where we had parked our car, with just one thing in mind…I need to get back to school, to my Bella as soon as I can. My Bella…

We got back to the car and I raced back to school, eager to see her. After a century of having her face in my memory, I could not wait to see the face, the smile, the blush…her silky hair…in reality. Jasper gave me a smile, sensing my excitement and nervousness. We were back in time for lunch and proceeded to the canteen (even though we had just had our meal), to look for Rosalie and Emmett. That name brought back some insecurity.

_**APOV**_

__How would Rosalie react to Bella? After a century of seeing him wallow, I hoped that she would behave herself…but when has Rosalie ever thought of anyone except herself?

But even my visions could not have prepared me for her response…


	9. Chapter 8: First Sight

**Chapter 8: First Sight**

**(A/N: This is my longest chapter so far. Another character intro note: Ireya and Silke will be like the bimbos Jessica and Lauren! Cade, Johnson, Pablo will sort of be equivalent to Mike, Eric and Tyler. I am not into sports so much and please just skip any mistakes that I might make with the player positions etc.I am also not an American and hence do not know the system of schooling there! Advance apologies for any glaring mistakes that might relate to the system of education there!)**

_**EPOV**_

I was drowning in thoughts about this new Bella and _my Bella _that the chaotic thoughts around me dulled to a faint buzz in the background… I was wondering how this girl, someone I had not even seen yet could have such an effect on me…

_**APOV**_

Edward was actually smiling…in fact for his normal standards I could say that he was euphoric. I was praying that my last vision would come true. It would kill him if it was otherwise. I was also hoping that Jasper would be able to control Rosalie's reactions. I know that she has changed a lot in the past century and was actually hoping that Edward would find someone but would she accept it even if it was a human, again?

_**JPOV**_

With so many emotions hitting me at the same time I was going crazy. So many from just Edward alone. I knew he had complex thinking but complex emotions too? Who was I kidding here?

_**EmPOV**_

I saw Alice, Jasper and Edward walk into the cafeteria. Alice was smiling and Jasper looked like he was trying to put up with the tidal wave of emotions. But what got my attention was Edward…He was actually _smiling._ He has not ever done that even for Esme's sake in the past 100 years. I noticed that Rosalie was also watching Edward.

_**RPOV**_

Was Edward actually smiling? Was he done with his "attention-claiming wallowing" phase? But still…what in the world could get him to smile that way…a heart-felt happy smile? I saw Alice whisper something to Jasper and break away from them, when they were waiting to buy some food…sometimes keeping up with the human charade feels so irritating! Alice came and slid on to the seat next to me. This was strange. She never sat next to me.

Slowly, she whispered to me. "Please Rosalie, do not act violently or say anything filled with venom. He deserves _this_ happiness. He needs _her _and we need _him_. Please, for him, for _us_."

I was shocked to hear this from her. Alice had never bothered being patient with me. Only Jasper and Edward could cope with her. Alice never lived in the present and threw away the present moment and was cast away in her visions about the future. All the same, I loved her as a sister. But did she not see in her "visions" as to what I would say? I recovered quickly and for once I told her what I felt, rather than thought. "He is _my_ brother _too_ Alice. I love him. I have known him since when I was created. Would I not give _anything _in my power, to see him happy again, play the piano where he pours his unspoken thoughts and emotions into music, for him to be himself again?" Alice had hurt me very much but that is how they saw me, everyone except Emmett, because he loved me more than anything else and Edward, because he heard my thoughts even before I assembled them myself! Emmett had heard our exchange and nodded in agreement, a small smile gracing his lips, appreciating my effort to speak my heart for the first time.

_**EPOV**_

I knew she had to come into the cafeteria sooner or later. I could not contain the excitement coursing through my body. Jasper kept smirking in my direction. We grabbed some human food. Ew…it even smelled disgusting, how do they eat this stuff. I suddenly remembered the day when _Bella _had dared me to eat a bite from a slice of pizza. A felt myself getting caught in _her _ thought again and Jasper grimaced slightly, feeling my pain. I had left the family, to live alone for a period of time after I had left _her_ because, with me at home, Jasper was literally doubled over himself grimacing in pain and sorrow. But I had grown strong enough to come back to my parents, my family and tried to start over once again…

And today I could see _her _face again. I was lost in my own thoughts, wondering if this new girl will have _my Bella's _way of thinking and doing things. Will I be able to read her mind?

I went and plopped down next to Alice, not wanting to see the reactions on Rosalie's face, and also because of the fact that I now sat facing the crowd entering the cafeteria. Any time now…

I was looking down at my tray of untouched food but concentrating on the thoughts around me. Half the football team, including their captain Cade, was drooling over Bella Noris. With the spring dance around the corner, each of them was wondering if they should stick to their cheerleader girlfriends or ask Bella out. I growled internally. Did I want to ask this Bella out? Will she accept me for who I am?

Alice's thoughts interrupted me…_Edward she is here…look up…_

I took a deep breathe and that is when her scent hit me…it was exactly like _my Bella's _but stronger and even more appetizing. The fire in my throat burnt my insides, it had been a very long time since I had felt so thirsty for someone's blood, my singer's blood. But when I looked up at her, she took my breath away. She was _really _here. What would I not give to hold her in my arms. A century long wait… Her beautiful deep brown eyes, the silky hair, her porcelain skin with that warm blush on her cheeks. She looked as beautiful as _my Bella _or even more beautiful if I were to be honest. She noticed Alice and waved to her but looked away immediately, when her friend Milo grabbed her hand to pull her towards the queue for the food. I felt my dead heart flutter. I looked at my siblings and they had a similar awestruck expression on their faces, except Alice, who had already talked to Bella and was now smirking, quite pleased with my reaction.

As I watched her wait in the queue, I felt myself falling into a depression, my insecurities getting the better of me. _What if she does not want me, like me, sees at me for who I am, a monster…What if she is not like my Bella…Will I still be able to love her because of the way she mirrored my Bella, her blush? _I was fighting an internal battle when Jasper's thoughts got my attention.

Jasper's eyebrows shot up as he gave me a curious look, followed by a smirk… _What is that Edward? I feel your nervousness and depression. An insecure teenager, are we? Don't worry, I am sure you can control your thirst for your singer… Yes, I feel your thirst as well! Even though my control has greatly improved, I am not sure if I will be able to handle double the thirst…So before I do something for all of us to regret, control your thirst. But I find your other emotions quite amusing… did I actually get a whiff of lust?_

Even as I listened to Jasper's words as they passed his mind, I could not look away from her, even though she now faced the opposite direction. I growled and Jasper chuckled.

_**BPOV**_

I entered the cafeteria with Milo to get some lunch. It was a small eating area with not too many tables, but was still crowded. I looked around for familiar faces and noticed the girl from my English class, Alice, sitting with a group of people. Everyone in her table was looking at me. They were all _beautiful_; in fact, the word beautiful does not do them justice. They were all different and yet similar, with the same eye color and mild dark circles around their eyes and for some strange reason I felt a strange pull, an ache, towards the guy sitting next to Alice. I have never felt this way before. He had tousled bronze hair and perfect features. I was not the one who paid too much attention to men around me but when my eyes met his, I could not help but feel a faint stutter in my heart beat! There were so many emotions playing in those eyes, but were masked with a sheet of serenity. I waved a 'hi' to Alice before Milo pulled me into the line for the food. As I was picking up my food, I felt people stealing glances at me. I abhorred the fact that we moved around so much, having to be the new girl in some school every few years! I was tired of it. I missed having close, true friends and a truly caring boyfriend with some intentions of commitment. My mother had met my father in high school and they got married soon after, since their parents were quite understanding and approved of their relationship. They went to the same university and graduated together. My father had taken over his family business soon after and my mother became a home-maker and had me within a year after graduation. I have rarely seen them argue and they still have the same intensity of love that they shared when I was a baby, and before (from what I have heard from my mother). My parents loved me, I knew that. But neither of them had the time to show me their love, except by symbolically getting me expensive gifts for no good reason or occassion. To an outsider it will seem like I was a spoilt-brat.

But this is not what I wanted, what I terribly missed. My heart yearned for that special someone who would love me! I would not care if he had a third eye or webbed feet (**A/N: Modified from Twilight**), as long as he truly loved me for what I am as a person, in my heart and mind, without just being overwhelmed with my curves and money. May be, just _may be_, Forks would grant me my wish!

Milo was neither too shy nor too out going. She introduced me to a bunch of my batch mates who sat at her, now our, lunch table. There were a couple of guys from the football team, and Milo's boyfriend Martin was on the team as well. Soon, people started discussing about the start of the next football season and I tuned out most of the conversation. I caught some of the guys in the table eyeing my body and felt my blood rush to my cheeks. Grrr…why did I have to blush now! I did not want them to interpret it the wrong way…Oh boy…it's a no no…

The rest of the lunch hour passed quickly and I found out from Milo that the people in Alice's table were her siblings, all of them being the adopted children of Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife. She also told me that the beautiful blonde girl, more like woman, was Rosalie Hale and her twin was the blonde guy, Jasper Hale. The huge muscular guy with curly brown hair was Emmett Cullen and the one with tousled bronze-brown hair, the one I was actually interested in, was Edward Cullen. That meant that Alice, Emmett and Edward (even the thought of _his_ name sent my heart over the hill) were siblings. I got to know that Jasper and Alice were a couple and so were Rosalie and Emmett.

I was surprised to know that the boyish looking yet well built, cute, _Edward Cullen _was single! Is that even possible?? But what disturbed me was when Milo told me that he had turned down every single of the "_hot girls"_ who had tried to flirt with him. From the way he acted I could almost be sure that he was straight, but may be he had a girlfriend in his previous school, considering they just moved here. For some unknown reason, not really unknown considering I realized that I was crushing on him, him having a girlfriend hurt me more than I thought it would.

Once we left the table, Milo and I headed towards the gym. We had this class together and I was really enjoying her company. I sort of felt that she liked me for who I was and not for just being the new girl or the girl with filthy rich parents! Like me, she was partly shy to people and dressed decently, unlike a few of the cheerleader girls at our lunch table. Some of the girls, Ireya and Silke shot me death glares through out lunch.

"Why were the two girls at the far end of our table, Ireya and Silke if I remember correctly, giving me such great welcoming looks?" I asked sarcastically, hoping she would understand the sarcasm behind what I said.

Milo just smiled, shrugged and said "Well, they treat every girl who is not a part of their cheering squad that way. I do not like them so much but since Martin likes to sit with this football team mates for lunch and Ireya is the captains girlfriend, I have to accept her presence at the table. For the most part, Ireya and Silke are caught up in their own delusional world of make-up and gossip to bother with anyone. I noticed Cade and Pablo size you up. Johnson is a nice guy but is a little sexually frustrated, if you ask me. Bella, I already feel like you are a good friend and I am telling you this to keep you safe…I would never want to be close to those guys. They are not just football players, but also _players_, if you know what I meant"

I nodded and gave Milo and smile to let her know that I understood what she told me and appreciated her for what she had told me so frankly. Luckily, we had basketball that day and I finished my warm-up run and joined the team. To my dismay, both Cade and Pablo were in my team and trying to 'hit onme' during the game, both figuratively and actually. We finished 10minutes before the end of the hour to clean up and get ready for the next class. I was glad when the bell rang to announce the end of the hour, but it was short-lived since I realized that I had math next! It was the one subject, other than quantum physics of course, that I had trouble keeping my straight As. I had to put in triple the amount of time that I normally needed for the other subjects. I was praying, as I entered the class, that the teacher would not call me for any of the answers in class!

Once he signed the new student sheet, he asked me to take the last seat in the right end of the class. I looked up to see if I had a bench mate- my eyes went wide and a mild gasp escaped my lips as I my eyes met with those of my bench mate…


	10. Chapter 9: Calculus

**Chapter 9: Calculus**

_**BPOV**_

That stupid blush again! I walked to my desk and put my stuff on the desk and sat down. In an attempt to be indifferent to the Adonis sitting next to me, I held my hand out and said "Hi, I am Bella Noris." My dull brown eyes clashed with the pools of liquid gold once again and my breathing hitched! Slowly, without breaking eye-contact he took my hand and said " Edward Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you finally, Bella!" I wanted to pull my hand away from the extremely cold ones that held mine but felt my eyes glaze over when I heard his smooth silky voice. It was music to my ears! The rate at which emotions flickered past his eyes was mind-boggling. I thought I caught a glimpse of pain, suffering, care, passion, sorrow and…love? No, not possible. It must be the clouded mind of mine. Once out of my reverie, I realized I was still holding his hand and blushed furiously before I turned back to face the teacher who was just starting off with the class. I felt so self-conscious that I let my straight boring hair fall as a curtain between us. We were doing Calculus this semester. I groaned when the teacher started the class.

A soft musical voice whispered to me "Not your favorite subject, I guess?" I looked up just to be met with those smoldering golden eyes. I lost my stream of thought. Just when I was thinking up a logical response, the teacher called to me for an answer. I had not even heard the question. Before I could stutter my ignorant response, Edward pushed a sheet in front of me with some variables written out. I do not know from where I got the urge to trust this strange beautiful guy but read out the answer to the teacher. The scowl on the teacher's face was replaced by a smile and he said "Excellent Ms. Noris!" and continued with what ever he was saying. Once I gathered my thoughts, I turned towards Edward and said "Thank you for saving my neck! It would have been too embarrassing to have answered him incorrectly, considering the fact that I did not even hear the question. I owe you one. And answering to your earlier question, yes, I am horrible at math!" I blushed furiously once again.

He let out a small chuckle, "I could tutor you if you would like. Math is one of my strong subjects! And you are welcome, anytime!" He gave me a bright smile and I was dazzled. I forgot my name!

"T…Th..Thanks. I would really appreciate your help" I stammered and stuttered before I finished the sentence. Even with my limited experience with men, I had never been at a loss of words. This guy was driving me insane but I was, to say the least, pleased to have his company.

My over-powering shyness took over and I blushed and hid behind my hair and waited for the class to finish. I still had just one more class for the day and I would be heading home, to my sanctuary. But I must say that my first day in the new school was not as traumatic as I had expected it to be. Milo had told me that it was a tradition in the school to hold a spring dance, but unlike earlier where the date was the girl's choice, this year it would be the guy's choice and the turns would be every alternate year. I realized that I was unintentionally hoping that my date would be the guy who was sitting next to me, leaving me breathless. I smacked myself for letting my thoughts run haphazardly. I knew that I was quite okay looking but this guy was way out of my league.

_**EPOV**_

I was almost bouncing in my seat, yes, bouncing. Alice would have been proud of me. I could not contain the excitement flowing through me. I heard Jasper's thoughts from the next room as my excitement hit him _… Whoa Eddie boy (if you are interested in knowing…right now, I am smirking at you!)…Control. You are putting Alice to shame… Excited are we?..._

I tried to mask my feeling as best as I could and waited for _her _to enter the room. I knew that Mr. Randy, the math teacher would assign her to the desk next to mine because that was the only empty bench in the class. She entered the class, looking flushed, probably from her gym class. For some reason, she looked nervous as hell. For a moment, it looked as if she was deliberating on whether she should just turn around and walk out. But she squared her shoulders as if determined at making through the hour and proceeded to get her sheet signed. All this body language would have been almost imperceptible to the human eye was quite obvious to my vampire sight. Then it struck me…I had not even tried listening to her thoughts. I had just assumed that her mind would be protected from my powers, like _ my Bella's _had been…why was I trying to interpret her body language when I could pull out her thoughts! With sudden anticipation I tried to tune out the unnecessary thoughts around me as I tried to focus on where she stood, to find her _voice_. But I could not hear anything and I was _not _surprised. I laughed to myself at my realization.

I watched her reaction eagerly as the Mr. Randy told her to take a seat next to me. She looked up and blushed a beautiful shade of rose and her eyes went wide when they met mine. I could spend my eternity swimming in the pools of those warm brown orbs.

She tried to sound confident and indifferent as she held her hand out to me and introduced herself "Hi, I am Bella Noris" but I could clearly hear her heart beat pick up the pace. The rhythmic beating of her heart was like music, what I had heard only in my mind for the past century. Slowly, without breaking eye-contact I took her hand in mine, feeling how fragile she was, how warm, how soft and inviting she was… "Edward Cullen. It's a pleasure to meet you finally, Bella!" I had dazzled her, I realized as I saw her eyes glaze over. In that moment, I found myself experiencing a assortment of emotions- guilt, passion, love, sorrow, anxiety, concern, anger towards the monster that I was… It felt like I had lost a piece of myself when she retrieved her hand from mine and I felt a stab of pain in my non-beating heart when she hid behind her hair. I heard her groan softly when the teacher started off with differential calculus.

I figured out from her earlier body language and her groan that she was not fond of this subject. I could not help but chuckle to myself and find out if I was right in my guessing. "Not your favorite subject, I guess?"

She turned her dove-like eyes towards me and looked up to me through her long eyelashes, my breathing hitched. This girl was seducing me even with out knowing it… _Is your little man going out of control my man (Jasper's thoughts came to me from the next room)…_ She looked like she was confused about something and we were having a beautiful peaceful moment when the Mr. Randy called her for an answer. Her heart beat picked up and I could tell that she had been dazzled once again by me. I smiled to myself and wrote down the answer for her on a piece of paper, having heard it in the teacher's mind. I pushed the sheet towards her, hoping she would trust me enough to read out the answer from the paper. Pleased with his teaching abilities, Mr. Randy appreciated her and got back to where he had left off. I was still looking at when she took a deep breath and spoke to me.

"Thank you for saving my neck! It would have been too embarrassing to have answered him incorrectly, considering the fact that I did not even hear the question. I owe you one. And answering to your earlier question, yes, I am horrible at math!" Warm inviting blood pooled on her cheeks and I swallowed the venom that pooled in my mouth.

…_Edward…why do I see you teaching her calculus in you room? (Alice)…_

I had unintentionally made a decision to help Bella and Alice was trying to get it out of my mouth. "I could tutor you if you would like. Math is one of my strong subjects! And you are welcome, anytime!" I gave her my best smile and her eyes glazed over and I realized I had dazzled her once again.

"T…Th..Thanks. I would really appreciate your help." I did a happy dance in my mind while I could hear Alice squeal in her mind!

To my dismay the class ended too quickly and I decided to skip the next class and run home. I left the car keys in the ignition…Alice would see it. Checking the no one was watching me, I took off into the woods.

After a century, running felt exhilarating and I reached home in a couple of minutes and a thought struck me...


	11. Chapter 10: Enlivening

**A/N: I was up till around 1AM to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it!**

**Chapter 10: Enlivening…**

_**BPOV**_

As I made my way to my car after school, I was not looking where I was going, being engrossed in my thoughts about Edward. I was almost positive that he had had a very unhappy life and was trying to put on a show of being happy. For some strange reason, and I could not understand the feeling, it hurt me to see him unhappy. If only I could take away his sorrow…

Suddenly I bumped into something hard and cold…I looked up to see _what _it was but met with 3 pairs of topaz eyes, set in their gorgeous faces. I could recognize those eyes anywhere, even in my sleep. They were the same shade as Edward's.

I had spoken to one of them before, Alice. Next to her were the tall muscular blonde guy, the model-like girl and the body-builder. They all had similar reactions on their face. A mixture of amusement and elation; like I was their long lost friend whom they had not expected to meet here, Forks of all the possible places on this planet.

"Bella, I just wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend Jasper, his sister Rosalie and my brother Emmett. I guess you have already met my other brother, Edward. I guess he was in your Math class."

"Um…Hi. Nice to meet you!" I shook hands with the three of them and I had to bite my tongue to prevent the yelp from escaping my mouth, when my hand made contact with the freezing hard hands of theirs. If all of them were adopted children, how could it be that they have the same eye color, mild shadows under their eyes _and _similar abnormal body temperature? It did not make any sense. I was confused and shocked. Jasper eyed me speculatively as if sensing my inner turmoil. Emmett was looking at me with so much adoration, such unfathomable concern, one that I had not even seen in my parent's eyes. Rosalie's expression looked like something was holding her back from hugging me. I was overwhelmed by their affection. By why did they feel that way towards me, someone whom they had just met?

Alice was literally bouncing on her toes when she asked me "Bella, would you like to be friends with us? We are new in Forks and so are you. I can _see _that we will make great friends."

I cracked a wide smile, probably the widest in a long time. "Sure Alice! I would love to!"

"How about we have a sleep-over at our place on Friday? We could do some girly stuff. I can give you a complete make-over and then we can have a movie night with the guys. What you think?"

I had been to some sleep-overs at my friends' back in LA, when both my parents went off to some place where my father would have some business meetings and needed my mother to accompany him for the dinners and parties. And I did not have any close friends here and I knew that my parents were leaving on Friday morning to New York. I pondered over the options for spending my time, other than reading. I could not come up with any ideas and a sleep-over sounded fun. "That sounds great Alice! Thanks! My parents are away from Friday morning, for the whole weekend and I was in fact wondering how to spend my time."

She clapped he hands and squealed, before she pulled me into a tight hug. I could judge that Alice was the kind of girl who was always chirpy, bubbly and hyper! I was really starting to like her! The others were smiling at us.

We exchanged our cell numbers and said our goodbyes; I drove home, exhausted from the first day of school. The work load was not as heavy as in my previous school and for that, I was thankful. But I still had to work on my calculus, to keep up with the lectures. I was wondering if Edward had been serious about his offer and if so from when he would start tutoring me. I was looking forward to it, to spending time with Edward, alone. My brain told me that I was crushing on someone, who was as good as a stranger, and it was stupid to want to spend time with him, but my heart over-ruled my mind.

I had dinner alone, since my father was not back from work and my mom wanted to keep him company for dinner. I went back to my room, showered and changed into my night dress. I was lying on my bed, with my calculus book resting on my stomach and fiddling with my cell phone when I had a thought. I could call Alice and get Edward's number from her and talk to him with the pretention of asking some calculus doubt. After all, he had offered to help me. The more sensible part of my mind berated me for chasing after a guy and I dropped my phone on the bed with a groan…It was going to be a long night…

_**EPOV**_

I had made up my mind when I was running and was eager to implement my thoughts. I did not even bother to check for Esme when I entered the house. I ran to the grand piano in the living room, and removed the cover that Esme had put on it, when it had become nothing but a show-piece in the house. I ran my fingers over the ivory keys and a smile graced my lips. It was truly a century since I had actually smiled, not for the sake of my family, but because I felt happy! I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling that coursed through my body as I touched the keys; complete bliss. My hands started playing on their own accord. I played _Bella's lullaby_. My ears tingled with pleasure of listening to my composition, the music, which I had written for _her. _I could see the beautiful face, with my eyes closed, conjuring up the image from my memory. Only it was not the memory from a century back, it was the one from a few hours before.

In that instant I realized that I was in _love, _for yet another time in my never-ending life. Only, this time, I would make sure not lose _my love_. I decided to erase all comparisons that I was drawing between _my Bella _ and _my new found love._ I will love her, even if she is not like _my Bella, _even if she does not reciprocate my feelings, I shall keep her safe and near. I could not help it when a wide smile broke across my face at my realization. Being in love was the most powerful emotion, to man, even to vampires. I played the lullaby a couple of times and then went on to play Esme's favorite.

By the time I finished her song and opened my eyes, the whole family was gathered in front of the piano. Even Carlisle. Esme should have called for him at work. I could see Esme sobbing on Carlisle's shoulder; she would have happy tears running down her cheeks, if only she could shed those tears. I had almost turned deaf to the thoughts of those around me, being engrossed in my music, in my revelations.

…_That was beautiful Edward…You brought back some life into this non-living heart, to my family. Thank you! I missed you, my baby! (Esme)_

I walked to Esme and gave her a hug, something that I had not done since I had left Bella.

… _Edward, I hope you realize how much this means to all of us. It is good to have you back son. If you want to talk, I will be in my study later on… (Carlisle)_ I nodded to let him know that I had heard him.

…_Edward…you love her. Don't you?! I knew this would happen. I saw it! And you would not believe what I planned for this Friday. You are going to thank me for centuries to come! (Alice) _I laughed freely and picked up the little 4'10" pixie as she squealed and kissed me on the cheek.

_... I feel like I would burst from all the happiness…Edward, I hope you intend on telling Bella that you love her. (Jasper)_ I nodded again and I felt nervous at the thought of being turned down, causing Jasper to snicker.

_Too bad she is not that clumsy…Well, Eddie boy…how about a round of arm-wrestling to celebrate. We have not had a rematch for the one you cheated on 100 years, 3 days and 11 hours ago… (Emmett)_

I slapped him on his shoulder playfully and nodded to him and started to walk away towards the backyard where we had a boulder for our arm-wrestling matches. It was then that I heard something that I never thought I would hear.

… _I am truly happy for you Edward. If she is the one who will make you happy_, _I will love her like a sister and gladly accept her. You do not have to worry about my reactions this time. I am so glad to have my brother back. I missed you Edward. Terribly. Could we work on your car after you are done with Emmett? I thought we could upgrade your engine… (Rosalie)_

I walked back the way I had come, past Emmett, Jasper and Alice, to where Rosalie was standing. "Thank you, Rose. I missed you too!" And for the first time in our life, we embraced.

I heard Alice tapping her foot impatiently and turned to look at her questioningly.

…_Aren't you going to ask me what I planned for Friday?..._

I smiled and asked her what she wanted to hear from me verbally "Will you _please_ tell me Alice?" I put on the best puppy-dog pout that I could muster; of course it was not even close to the one that Alice could pull-off.

She squealed and let the images of the conversation with Bella play in her mind. My breathing hitched. _My love _was going to come home…to me.

"And now I guess someone wants the phone number of someone whose name stats with a B and ends with an A, which I don't intend on giving out!"

"Please Alice, for me" I acted like I was pleading with her. Like I could not just grab her phone from her pocket…

"Aww…you look so cute!" Alice knew how that statement gets on to my nerves.

"I will go shopping with you the next time Alice. Is that a good enough deal? Can I have her number _now?_"

"Deal!" and she read out the number in her head.

"Emmett, we can have the game once I finish the call. And Rose, I promise to work with you after that!"

I ran out of the house, grinning, into the woods, to be away from the earshot of my family members, when I called _my love…_ I felt as 'alive' as I had ever been in a century of this soulless existence…because of _her, my love for Bella…_


	12. Chapter 11: Conversation

**A/N: Another chapter...But where will Edward run to? Only I know!! ;-) But make your guess!  
**

**Chapter 11: Conversation**

_**EPOV**_

I took out the phone from my pocket and dialed her number, having memorized it as soon as I had heard it. I waited nervously, impatiently for her to pick up her phone. After what seemed like eternity, but in reality just a couple of rings, I heard the melodic voice of Bella from the other end "Hello? Who is this?"

I was lost in her voice and I did not know what to say to her. I had not thought of any good reason for me to be calling her. I decided to go with Calculus as an excuse.

"Er…this is Edward Cullen…from your math class. I got your number from my sister Alice. Did I disturb you?"

There was a sharp intake of breath; I assumed was because she did not think that it would be me who was calling. I was wondering if I had made a mistake by calling her this late. It was nearly 10PM now. I had had an uncontrollable urge to talk to her, to hear her voice but may be she did not want to talk to me. To her, I was _just_ a class mate. I was caught completely off guard with her reply.

"_Edward_…I can't believe you called me. I was wondering if I should call Alice and ask for your number and talk to you so that we can sort of decide when it will be suitable for you to spend time teaching me that stupid calculus."

Hearing her tell me that she wanted to talk to me sent a shiver of pleasure through my non-beating heart. Was calculus an excuse like I had used or did she actually want to talk to me only about calculus? I decided that some mild flirting would get me the answer to this question.

I was a gentleman, but who says a gentleman can't flirt with his_ love_? I smiled to myself at my thought.

"For you, I can make myself available any day, any time. Your word is my command."

I heard a soft gasp escape her lips. I could not imagine her facial reaction to my attempt at flirting.

"That means a lot to me Edward. No one has ever done that for me. How about we start from this weekend? I hope Alice told you about our sleep-over plan. We could get back to my house on Saturday morning and start working on calculus or I could bring my book along when I come over on Friday. What do you think?"

"Like I told you Bella, _anything _for you. I guess it will be better if you could bring your book when you come over on Friday. I could teach you after breakfast on Saturday. I hope your parents won't mind." I threw in the last part to gauge her reaction and to find out more about the kind of parents she had. I knew from my centuries of experience that some could be quite tough and I hoped that her parents were not like that.

"No, my parents won't mind in the least bit. In fact, they will be out of town from Friday till Monday. I would rather not spend my time alone in this huge house adjoining the forest! It sort of creeps me out!"

"Ah…(_that tricky pixie kept this information from me, as if I would do something un-gentlemanly!)_ You could stay over for the whole weekend at my place if you like. I am sure my mother Esme would love to have you there." _This should make Esme happy. She would get an opportunity to spend sometime with Bella and will be excited to cook for her._

"Um…that sounds great! I just need to tell my mom about it. I told her it was only Friday, not that she would mind but I like to inform her of my where abouts." She stifled a yawn.

"I guess, I will let you get some sleep then. See you tomorrow Bella. Would you er…uh…like to have lunch with me?" (_See…that was not so difficult. I felt like a teenage boy trying to ask his crush out on a date! I am glad Jasper and Emmett are not around. They would not let this go lightly for the next century!)_

"Me? (_her voice sounded a little shrill and strained…I was getting nervous by the minute…say yes..say yes…please…)_…Sure. I would love to have lunch with _you, _Edward."

"I will save a seat for you at lunch then. Take care, Bella. Sleep well. Dream pleasant dreams."

I heard a sigh, like she was disappointed that I was ending our conversation and I was over-joyed at that thought! "Good night, Edward. See you tomorrow. Er…Is this your number? Can I call you on this if I need to?"

"Of course. _Anytime."_

"Thanks, Edward. Bye"

It hurt me to press the end button on my phone. I could listen to her voice _forever_ and never get tired of it. I considered going up to her house to watch her sleep and deliberated for a minute. I pushed the phone into the pocket of my jeans and took off running…

_**BPOV**_

I had been starting at the ceiling of my room for at least a couple of hours and sleep still evaded me. I could not bring up the courage to get Edward's number and talk to him. Listen to his musical voice…how I loved the flow of my name through his lips. I was falling for this guy, to whom I might be _just _another girl chasing after him. I was quite sure that he would have had girls falling all over him all the time. But the way he looked at me, the message his eyes were trying to convey, that I was unable to grasp, gave me some hint and comfort in the possibility that my feelings for him, might not be one-sided after all. I was brought back to the present by the phone ringing next to me.

I could not recognize the number but decided to answer anyway, wondering who might be calling at this un-godly hour. "Hello? Who is this?"

There was a brief pause and I could hear someone breathing into the phone, like they were nervous or contemplating a decision.

"Er…this is Edward Cullen…from your math class. I got your number from my sister Alice. Did I disturb you?"

I took a deep breath. It was _Edward._ As if I needed any reminding about who he was. I was excited at the thought of him calling me, in spite of it being so late at night. Was he thinking about me too? And before I could control what I was saying…

"_Edward_…I can't believe you called me. I was wondering if I should call Alice and ask for your number and talk to you so that we can sort of decide when it will be suitable for you to spend time teaching me that stupid calculus." _Had I actually confessed of having wanted to talk to him? God…take me away now!_

"For you, I can make myself available any day, any time. Your word is my command." _Was he trying to flirt with me, impress me? Well, I was falling for him even without this! No one had ever been this sweet to me, not even by ex-boyfriends. Did he like me?_

At that thought, I gasped and blurted out what I wanted to do…spend alone time with him, getting to know him. What better time than the weekend? Will he be there for the sleep-over on Friday?

"That means a lot to me Edward. No one has ever done that for me. How about we start from this weekend? I hope Alice told you about our sleep-over plan. We could get back to my house on Saturday morning and start working on calculus or I could bring my book along when I come over on Friday. What do you think?"

"Like I told you Bella, _anything _for you. I guess it will be better if you could bring your book when you come over on Friday. I could teach you after breakfast on Saturday. I hope your parents won't mind."

He was being a gentleman and so I decided I should let him know I was okay with him flirting with me and took the chance to flirt back…give him a hint that I felt lonely in this place.

"No, my parents won't mind in the least bit. In fact, they will be out of town from Friday till Monday. I would rather not spend my time alone in this huge house adjoining the forest! It sort of creeps me out!"

"Ah…You could stay over for the whole weekend at my place if you like. I am sure my mother Esme would love to have you there." By now, I was fairly sure that he had some feelings for me. I could not just blurt out that I would like to stay at his place and decided to tell him that I had to inform Clara.

"Um…that sounds great! I just need to tell my mom about it. I told her it was only Friday. Not that she would mind but I like to inform her of my where abouts." I tried to stifle a yawn, unsuccessfully.

"I guess, I will let you get some sleep then. (_Had he heard me yawn…impossible, I thought as I heard him say his goodbye) _See you tomorrow Bella. Would you er…uh…like to have lunch with me?"

Was he nervous about asking me to have lunch with him? Was he really interested in me? I wanted to jump out of my bed and scream a 'Yes' but instead tried to keep my excitement in check and when I opened my mouth, my voice came out shrill and weird "Me? Sure. I would love to have lunch with _you, _Edward." I squeaked! _Oh my God…he is going to think I am desperate!_

"I will save a seat for you at lunch then. Take care, Bella. Sleep well. Dream pleasant dreams."

_Oh ye__s ,I will! I'll dream about you, Edward! They are bound to be pleasant!_ "Good night, Edward. See you tomorrow. Er…Is this your number? Can I call you on this if I need to?" I wanted to have his _personal _number with me. It sent bolts of electricity through my spine.

"Of course. _Anytime."_

I loved the way he stressed 'anytime', making me feel special. "Thanks, Edward. Bye"

I sighed in content and soon sleep took over and that night I dreamed about us, Edward and I, in a beautiful place, filled with a bed of flowers, and me telling him I was in _love _with him…


	13. Chapter 12: Lunch

**Chapter 12: Lunch**

_**EPOV**_

After ending my call with Bella, I took off running into the woods. I reached the backyard of my house in less than a minute and I saw Emmett and Jasper concentrating on a game of arm-wrestling. As I waited for them to finish, I sat on the bench and started thinking about Bella. I was going over the conversation for the "n­th" time on my head when I heard Alice coming up to me.

…_I thought you will choose your first thought…go and watch Bella in her sleep. But this time, you are in for some disappointment. She does not talk in her sleep…I was just getting the feeling that I would not be seeing you for the rest of the night, when I got a vision of Emmett defeating you in the arm-wrestling game…__Should I tell him that you are not going to put in your full effort into the match?..._

I frowned. Of course, Alice would have _seen _me deliberate whether to go to Bella's home or come back here. I did not want to intrude on her privacy, considering we had met only today and though we had had a flirtatious conversation, I wanted to be positive about her feelings towards me before I spent my sleepless nights watching her sleep. I had also made up my mind to let Emmett win so that he would get off my back and not call for _another _re-match! I explained this quickly to Alice and she nodded her head.

…_I was surprised to see Rosalie react that way. I guess she put her decision off till the last minute so that I will not SEE it! But its nice to have her back off…_

"Yes it is, Alice. I was not expecting that! But people are not always what they _appear_ to be… who would expect that you could lift a truck with your hands!" I diverted the conversation, trying to lighten the mood.

…_I can SEE that you are trying to distract me but I will take it… So Mr.Cullen, when have you scheduled the math class?... _

"Ha…like you did not _see_!"

…_Are you asking her out for the spring dance? It's the guy's choice__, you know... I keep seeing flashes of you dancing or you just watching her dance. You better make up your mind fast, so that I can take her shopping for the dress…_

"Alice, I am…scared. That she won't accept me and see me for what I am…the _monster_ that I am."

…_Edward Anthony Cullen…Let us get this straight once and for all that YOU _are _NOT a monster…_

"But I am not _human_, Alice. She might want a normal human life. A husband, and _children. _I can love her like no man would ever love her but the later one is just something which I cannot give her! _And…_ I do want to give her the choice to decide if she wants to be with me. I do not understand when and how to explain _things _to her. Do you just expect me to say 'Hi Bella, I love you and I want to know if you feel the same. But just so you know I am a _vampire_, who also happens to be quite attracted to your _blood!' _?"

…_How about you talk to her about it on Saturday, after the math tutoring? Her parents are not there for the weekend, so she could stay here till she comes to 'reality' and starts accepting the facts. And I also think that you should…uh…tell her about your past relationship and that no harm will come to her…_

"I don't know, Alice. I am not sure about this. I have not been sure about anything for nearly century and 8 months…Right and wrong have ceased to exist for me."

…_Edward…__I know that you know that you can't let her go this time. You have tried living alone and it is not your way of life anymore. None of us want to see you alone. Carlisle could change her for you, if you want her to be your other half…And Bella does not seem to be that kind of girl who will not return your love because of what you are. And if my instincts are right, she will start guessing things about us soon enough…_

At this point, I did not know what to say and just nodded to let her know that I will consider what she told me.

Jasper and Emmett were now done and Emmett was gloating over his victory while Jasper flexed his muscles, checking for any damage that Emmett might have caused.

I got up to finish off the match I had promised Emmett, so that I can then spend sometime with Rosalie. I wanted to spend sometime in my room listening to some music before leaving for another day of school, but I realized that I might have to first arrange all my CDs, since I had not even touched those for a century!

--

Soon, it was time to go to school and for the first time in the past 100 years, I was looking forward to it and specifically the 'lunch' hour. We had decided to go hunting tomorrow so that we could come back by Thursday night. None of us wanted to risk feeling thirsty when Bella would be spending the night at our house. Also, Alice had predicted that the next two days would be sunny, which means staying out of the public eye! Though I cared for her safety and could not risk going out for the next two days, my heart ached at the thought of not being able to see her for the whole 2 days…

I spent my morning trying to eavesdrop on any conversation Bella might have with the others, my ears tickled every time I heard her sweet voice, her hearty laugh. I was ready to burst with all the excitement, as I walked down the corridor for lunch. After picking up some soda, I found a table at the very end of the cafeteria and sat there, waiting for Bella to come to me.

Soon, she entered the cafeteria and went to the food line to grab something to eat. Once she had her tray, her big beautiful eyes started to scan the cafeteria, trying to spot me. I thought of waving to get her attention but the sight of _her _looking for _me _sent so many emotions through my body, that I could not help but enjoy the sight. Having spotted me, she came down the aisle and took the seat directly across mine.

"How was you day, Bella?"

"Okay-ish. Yours?"

"Never been better!" I smirked.

I decided that I should get to know her better and decided to play a game with her, but I should set out the rules carefully, so as to allow me to skip any question that I did not want to answer.

"How about we play a small game to get to know each other? We can ask each other a question alternatively? If you feel that some question is inappropriate and you would not like to share the answer, its fine; you can skip it. You game for this?"

…_Oh…I see this is going to work…Yay! (small squeal)… (Alice)_

…_Good luck Edward… But keep things secret for now. Till she is ready…(Rosalie)_

"Hmmm…I can skip a question if I don't want to answer, right?"

"Yes. And the same goes for me."

"Sure then, you start."

"What is your middle name? And the name of your parents?"

"Mable. My father is Rolf and mother's name is Clara. What about yours?"

"Hmm…_nice_! You are beautiful and lovable. Your parents chose a perfect name for you…Bella and Mable." _(She blushed at my compliment and attempt at flirting!)_

…_Good going brother. You got her to blush. I see that a century of not flirting has not affected your abilities… (Emmett)_

…_She likes you Edward…Trust me…I can feel it… (Jasper)_

"My middle name is Anthony. My biological parents were Elizabeth and Edward Sr. But I have lived with Carlisle and Esme for a long time now and they are my parents in every way. I only have vague memories of the ones who gave birth to me." _I was a little surprised that I could share such details from my past with Bella without any hesitation. It had never been this easy to talk to someone. _"Where were you before you moved here? Do you like it in Forks?"

"We were in LA before my dad moved his main office to Forks. I do miss the sun and the warmth of LA but I am getting used to this weather. Alice told me that you guys moved her shortly before I did. So where are you from?"

"We lived in Alaska before Carlisle took up the offer from Forks hospital. He likes to work in small hospitals where his skills are put to better use than in some big establishment where there are many others to take care of what he can do."

We then talked about favorite colors, movies, music…

But the traitor bell went off and we had to head off in different directions. It felt lonely to be away from her.

"We should talk more Bella. I _really _like you and would like to get to know you better, if its okay with you…"

"It was fun talking to you Edward. It has been a long time since someone wanted to actually get to know me." _She looked down and when she looked up again her eyes were watery._ "People notice me only for the money and the looks, they never bother about what I really am. This means a lot more to me than you realize Edward. I would love to spend more time with you. You make me feel _special_ and you pay attention to what I am saying…See you in math then?"

"Definitely, _partner._" I winked and walked away. I heard her heals moving in the opposite direction. The other personal questions will have to wait. She was just opening up to me…

I could not wait to get to my math class…


	14. Chapter 13: Loves meLoves me not

**Chapter 13: Loves me…Loves me not…**

**A/N: Really really sorry guys! I started writing this chapter long back but did not get to finish. With the limited time that I had, and better response to the human fanfic that I am writing, this got pushed back! Hope you enjoy this chapter…**

_**BPOV**_

Lunch with Edward was the best thing that ever happened to me. It felt good to know that he was putting an honest effort in getting to know me for who I was. I was sure that he was trying to flirt with me, from yesterday's late night phone call and during lunch today. His eyes never left my face, like we were the only two left on the face of Earth and he was trying to memorize every single word that came out of my mouth.

All through gym, I had not been able to concentrate, waiting eagerly for the class to end so that I can see _him _again. Math, was a torture as usual, but now it came with some consolation. Edward was with me. I was excited about spending time with him, but classroom was not the right place for it. I was wondering if he would ask me out on a date or to the upcoming school dance. The prospect of watching a movie, cuddling next to Edward, this Friday was all I could think of. He was flirting with me and all, but now and then I could just catch a hint of sorrow in his beautiful topaz eyes. I vowed to myself to find out about it and take away his misery. May be the weekend would have so much more to it that just a movie night and math tutoring. I could not help the smile that crept across my face at the thought of being alone with him. He gave me a strange look, like he knew exactly what was going on in my mind right at that moment.

We could not talk or pass notes during the class, but I knew that he could also feel the strange attraction, some sort of an omnipresent current that was connecting us. I was drawn out of my thoughts when the shrill sound of the bell indicated the end of another futile hour of class.

Edward looked at me, as I got up, with so much care and _love(?)_, as he said "See you later, Bella. Be safe." The emotions in his eyes knocked the breath out of my lungs…_No…it can not be what I think it is…or can it?_

The rest of the day passed in thoughts about what I had seen in his eyes. I could not bring myself to accept that what I saw could be love, and could not trust the feelings that I myself felt for him…pain, that engulfed me when I was away from him; happiness, wholeness that came in his presence. He made me feel complete in ways that no one else had.

That night as I lay in my bed contemplating on my feelings, I broke down my own resistance and accepted the fact that I was slowly but irrevocably, falling in love with _Edward Cullen. _I could not wait for the sunrise, to announce the start of another day, which had once felt like a punishment. I would see _him _again in just a few hours!

--

As I arrived in school, I looked around the parking lot and saw to my disappointment that _his_ silver Volvo was no where to be seen. I felt my spirits sink. May be his car had some trouble and may be they had taken another car to school…I knew that they were from a well-to-do family.

Trying to hide my disappointment, I walked into my class room. The day turned out to be torturous and I realized that the Cullens were not in school when I noticed Alice missing in my English class. Their table was empty at lunch and I picked up a soda and went to sit in my car. I could not bare to not see _him_. Everything felt empty without _him._ I silent tear rolled down my cheek. I had been crying, even with out realizing that I was. I _needed _him to be with me. For once, I had thought that I had made true friends, and found _true love. _

Gathering every ounce of hope that was left in me, I dialed _his_ cell number. It went to his voice mail box. There was not even a recorded message with his voice, his _velvet _voice. I tried Alice's number, only to meet with the same response.

I was supposed to go over to their place tomorrow and they had left with out a single message. May be I had been flattering myself, thinking _he _was interested in me. I might look good but I was still a door mat compared to him. My emotions were going out of control and I knew I had to get out of here. I knew my face looked pale enough to pass for some sickness. I made my way to the school office to get excused for the rest of the day.

I drove back home. Luckily, my mother was not home. I did not expect her to be either. I ran up to my room quickly and fell on to the bed, on my stomach, sobbing. At some point I got up and changed into my nightwear. I switched off my phone. Every second that it remained silent, was an indirect reminder of all the wonderful conversations I had had with _him. _I knew they would not call me…why should they… why would _he?_ At some point sleep took over.

_**EPOV**_

I had considered telling Bella about not being in school tomorrow, but how could I explain the absence of all my siblings as well on the same day. I could not even say that we were going hiking, since we will be back in school on Friday. I decided that it would be best if I did not mention anything to her. I could wave it off as a family emergency if she asked me on Friday. _If she did ask me…But would she?_

We were leaving in a couple of hours on our 'family-trip'. Alice was all excited about it since we had never gone hunting together in nearly a century. From the time I had left Bella, I had refused to go hunting with any of them and someone always stayed back to keep me company, for the sake of Esme's sanity. She had never completely forgotten or forgiven the fact that I had shut them all out and run away form home, when I had left Bella. I had come back after a couple of years, when I could not bear to hurt Esme any longer. My pain was nothing compared to what I was inflicting on my family.

--

I was the first one to finish feeding and return to the car. I had switched off my cell phone and every second that I was away from her, I had been thinking about her. Would she have missed me, the way I missed her? I felt like telling the world what she meant to me…how much I loved her. Emmett had been put-off with my hunting habits. _"You are treating your prey lovingly…You make me sick Edward, because you are LOVE-SICK_! _Ha…Ha…" _had been his precise thoughts. I knew that everyone in my family had noticed the change in my hunting. I could not wait to get back to her…to see her. But I knew I had to wait till school to see her.

I switched on my phone and noticed that I had one missed call, but the called had not left a voice mail. I knew that it had to be _her._ I could only think of one possibility…she missed me…just like I did… I looked at the clock on the dash board of the car and saw that it was nearly 11PM. But my fingers had punched in her number into the phone, my vampire speed helping, for once! My non-beating heart was aching to hear her voice, and the anticipation was nearly killing me…but none of that came even close to the pain that engulfed me when I reached her voice mail box. She had switched off her phone!

I need to find Alice…Pain ripped through my still heart at the thought of Bella shutting me out of her life…

**A/N: I would love to continue this story but it depends on your response…I need to know what you guys think!**


	15. Chapter 14: Rescuing Love

**Chapter 14****: Rescuing Love**

**A/N: I am so so sorry…I have not updated in ages. I have not been able to concentrate on writing since I have been changing my mind over and over again about how I wanted Bella, Edward and Alice to act…And finally I finished with this chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it.**

_**EPOV**_

My heart was straining and I was nearly gasping (if it is possible for a vampire to experience breathing difficulties!) when I managed to find Alice.

"_Are you okay, Edward? Is it Bella?"_

"Have you not had any visions of her yet? She is shutting me out Alice. Her phone is switched off…She doesn't…doesn't want me…"

"_You are over-reacting and jumping to conclusions. May be her battery died out after she fell asleep. You will see her tomorrow and everything will be fine."_

"I am not so sure Alice…I should have told her that we won't be in school today."

"_The vision about Bella in our house and studying with you is still solid…so you should just relax."_

"I am running home…you can take the car with the others." I did not wait for her to reply and took off running. I had hurt the one person who meant the world to me…I was an eternally damned creature…For the first time in this long 'life' I wished that I could cry…I ran directly to my piano and sat on the bench, fingering random keys…and before I realized I was playing a new tune…not a lullaby but a music that was filled with love and affection and sorrow…sorrow that we were not together…I retreated to my room once I realized that my family was nearly home. I was not in a mood to face any of them. The only person I wanted to see now was _my _Bella. I vowed to myself that I shall not repeat the mistakes that I had committed in the brief phase of love that I had experienced nearly a century back. I shall not leave Bella this time. I will tell her all about myself before I bring her home. I owed her that much. Treaty and secrecy be damned.

Soon, but not soon enough, it was time to head to school. I changed into a fresh set of clothes and was in my car, waiting for my family to join me. All their thoughts were about me…they were worried for my sanity. I shut them out, not wanting to hear their sympathy or words of fake assurance…

My eyes frantically searched for Bella's car the second the school parking came into my sight. No…no where to be seen. Bella was very punctual and she arrived at school well before the classes started. I knew then that things were not fine. I parked and was dialing her number before any of my siblings managed to move a micron.

Voicemail box…no Bella. This was not battery trouble…my intuition was right…she was shutting me out. I needed to find her…make her understand, even if that meant breaking into her house.

Alice's vision invaded my thoughts. I could see myself climbing through Bella's window. She was murmuring in her sleep…My hands were reaching out to her…to touch her pale skin…to feel the warmth permeate my cold hands…she was burning up!

Alice's vision ended and her eyes widened in panic.

"_Find her and talk to her Edward. Now…"_

I didn't need to be told twice…or even once was that matter. I revved up the car and was out of the parking lot in a blink of the eye and was racing towards the house I had seen in Alice's vision. It was just on the edge of the woods and away from most of the civilization in Forks. I parked in the driveway next to Bella's car and looked for the window to her room. There was no noise or thoughts from inside the building, except for the faint beating of a heart…Bella's heart. She was alone in this mansion and…sick. No one knew she was sick. She had told me something about her parents being away for the weekend. May be the maid was not there either. I was climbing up to her window as fast as 'vampirely' possible. Her window was shut but not locked. I made no noise in opening the window and saw her sleeping on her bed…murmuring.

"Edward…" and then a soft sob escaped her lips. My heart was cringing and rejoicing at upon hearing my name fall out through her lips. She was dreaming about _me…_ but she was hurt because of me.

Before I could consciously react, my hands were around her fragile frame, consoling and comforting her. I could not stop myself from placing a soft affectionate kiss on her forehead. Her scent was weak and her heart beat was mild…she was definitely sick. I needed to take her to Carlisle.

"Bella…" I cooed in her ears trying to wake her up.

Another sob…

"Bella…I am here Bella…only for you…please wake up…"

Her eye balls were moving in the sockets and I knew she would come around in a few seconds…Her eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes…trying to focus on me.

"Edward…" she whispered consciously for the first time.

"I am here, love…I am here. Its okay…"

She hugged me and stifled…She was running a fever and I had to take her home to Carlisle…I could not take her to the hospital in her state.

"We need to get you to the doctor, Bella. You are burning up."

"No…I am fine."

I groaned internally…she was as stubborn as …_her…_

"I am only taking you to my father. He is a doctor and will know what to do. I don't want you to get worse."

She whimpered in my arms.

"Bella, where is the house key? I am taking you to my house and Alice can come back later to get you an overnight bag. You are definitely not staying here in this state!"

Realization dawned on her face. "How did you managed to get in? Or find my room? No one else is home to let you in…"

She had to bring up that one topic which I did not want to discuss right now. I would tell her once she feels better. My priority now was to get her medical attention and the only person I would trust her with was Carlisle.

"Later, Bella…I promise"

She meekly nodded her head.

I quickly dialed Carlisle's number.

"Hello, Edward"

"Carlisle, I need you to do me a favor. It is an emergency. I am bringing Bella home. I want you to take a look at her. She is burning up, Carlisle."

"Okay. I will be there in 15min max. Don't get worked up. Just get her home soon." With that he hung up.

I then called Esme.

"Esme…I am bringing Bella home, now. She is sick and I asked Carlisle to come home. Can you whip-up something for her to eat. I am quite sure she has not had anything for a while now."

"Anything for you, Edward. I will be waiting for you to bring her."

Bella was half-asleep in my arms. I needed to find the house key.

"Love, just tell me where the key is."

"My bag…" and she pointed tentatively towards her study table in the corner of her room.

I didn't bother moving at a human pace. I found the key, picked her up in my arms, bridal-style and ran down the stairs to my car. I locked the house and got to the car.

I placed her gently in the passenger seat and buckled her in.

I got into the driver's side and started the car. I was taking Bella _home_…


	16. Chapter 15:Taking Care

**Chapter 15: Taking care**

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter! I was caught up with work and the little time that I had was spent on writing the chapters for my other fanfic. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**EPOV**_

I drove faster than I had ever dared to drive on the narrow roads of this small town of Forks. Bella was fast asleep on the passenger seat but even in her sleep she kept murmuring something…not like sleep talking but just the kind when someone is really in pain… I had caused her this pain…if only I had been with her… From my earlier degrees from medical school, I knew that stress was also an important factor aiding sickness… the immune response during stress is much lower than the normal level and it is very easy for someone to catch a cold or fever when stressed.

The car skidded to a stop in front of my house and I ran inside, carrying Bella in my arms. Carlisle was in his lab…a place where he tried out new chemical compositions on cell lines for potential drug molecules. It was a miniature clinic and he was waiting for me to bring Bella. Esme followed behind me as I ran up the steps. I did not bother to knock knowing that he had already heard me coming up the stairs.

I placed Bella on the small bed and stood at her feet. Carlisle examined her and was telling me his opinion in his mind.

_From what I can see, its just a normal fever, due to high stress levels. You should talk to her once she wakes up. _

I merely nodded. I will tell her everything about myself and then it will be up to her, whether she wants to embrace me or walk away from the monster that I am.

_I think we should put her on some I/V glucose…I wonder when she had her last meal. Also, I will give her an injection to put her to sleep. _

"Thanks, Carlisle." My father figure patted me on by back and left the room. I could hear Esme's thoughts…kind as always.

_Oh…poor girl. She looks so beautiful…I hope one day she will become my daughter…Edward…I will get some groceries and prepare some food for her when she wakes up…I think chicken noodle soup should make her feel better…I remember reading about it in a women's magazine…_

I walked up to my mother and hugged her. She hugged me back fiercely when I thanked her.

_I will just get some stuff for her from the hospital…could you move her to the bed in the guest room that Alice set up for her?_

I nodded, letting my father know that I had heard him, never removing my eyes off the face of my angel, who had walked into my life for the second time.

I carried her slowly up the stairs to the guest bedroom, which was right across my room on the second floor of the house. I held her against my chest when I moved the covers and then placed her on the bed and moved the sheets to cover her.

My fingers sought out her cheeks and brushed them ever so slightly…_so warm…_

"Sleep, my love, I am here. I am sorry…I promise never to leave you again…I am too selfish to do what is best for you…Even if you decide to push me away…I will be around watching you, protecting you…like your guardian. I love you, my angel…_so much"_

Carlisle set up the _I/V_ and I sat in the chair across the room. My eyes never left her face…her heart beat steady…modulating my own unnecessary breaths…the constant beat better than any music I have ever heard…but for one…

How wrong I had been, in thinking I could love with out her. May be it was fate, destiny that brought her into my life for the second time. She was meant to make this mundane existence into life…at least as alive as I can become.

I heard my sibling arrive…all of them thinking about the same thing…how was Bella? Alice had had a vision of me carrying Bella into our house and they knew she was here.

Alice was the only one to come up to the room, when the rest of them decided to stay downstairs and wait for me.

Alice was excited…and as she skipped into the room, her mind said in a typical sing-song voice…_She'll wake up in exactly 2minutes and 32 seconds. Oh…and don't worry, she is here to stay. She loves you too, you know…_

For the first time in nearly 5 hours, my eyes strayed from my angel's face to meet my sister's exuberant smile. "I owe you, Alice. For eternity."

_I will remember that the next time I want to go shopping…_ I groaned! I should be more careful with what I promise Alice…

Alice quickly left the room, subtly giving us some privacy.

Esme called to me from below..._Edward...her soup is ready. We are down here. Call us when she is ready. And don't worry. Jasper is nearly breaking down from your anxiety._

Emmett being Emmett said _Its time that my little bro becomes a man...Ha Ha Ha...The squirt is quite funny...I like her._

Bella started to stir and I was by her side within a fraction of a second and did not hear anything else that my family had to say.

She seemed disoriented and unfocused and I knew the unfamiliar surroundings would scare her.

"Bella…" her name flowed across my lips like a prayer.

She blinked and turned to look at me. "Edward? Where are we and how did I get here? And…why are you with me?"

Her words stabbed me like fire. I hope she was not hurt beyond repair.

"Love, you are at my house and I brought you here when I saw that you were unwell. My father checked you and gave you some medicine so that you could rest. And as far as the last question goes… Where you are is my heaven, love…Bella…there are certain things that I should explain…"


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys,

I got a few PMs telling me that the poll was not displayed on the profile page...I made a mistake while creating it and I have corrected it....So please go ahead and vote. The poll will be open till 23rd December...(when I get my Christmas break!)

If you are checking out this message...Thanks! ;-)

Writing is my passion...but unfortunately, no matter how much I wish it was, it is not my profession. So my updates are quite far apart. I am a PhD stud and trust me…life is not easy.

I have this whole story planned out… ExB through out…no mike or Jacob here. But even though many people have subscribed to story alert/favorites for this story, I do not get many reviews and hence the poll. If I do not get satisfying number of votes, I am putting this story on hiatus.

So go to my profile page and help me decide.

Cheers,

Archiez


	18. Chapter 18

Hey guys,

I am terribly disappointed to say the least. In spite of so many of you having this story on your list of favs and alerts, only 3 actually bothered to vote! This story was my first fanfic and I loved it like my first child. But I guess this is where it ends.

Story discontinued.

I am now having second thoughts about my other story and if its worth investing all the time in writing. I might call it quits with writing fanfiction and spend more time on sketching the final plot for my own story, that my husband has promised to help me publish!

Auf Wiedersehen,

ArchiezCullen


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